


Prove Me Wrong

by lizbit_1



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/F, Lesbians in Space, Slow Burn, background cora/scott, minor main quest spoilers, not even really enemies, takes place over the course of the games story, they just dislike each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24695368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizbit_1/pseuds/lizbit_1
Summary: Addison is a bitch. Ryder falls for her anyway.
Relationships: Foster Addison/Female Ryder | Sara
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Prove Me Wrong

The Nexus was dark as Ryder stepped off the tram car, shadowed closely by Liam and Cora. A cursory glance around her showed the building to be empty of life, save an Avina AI console and some plants that Ryder was certain were fake.

“Okay, hold up a second.” Liam’s rich voice sounded from behind Ryder. “This doesn’t look like a welcome party.”

“Impressive skills of observation, Kosta.” Cora said dryly. “You pick those up in HUST-L?”

Even without turning around Ryder could tell Liam was rolling his eyes. “I just mean, what gives? Where is everyone? An ark showing up should be a big deal.”

“Maybe we’re the last to show and arks are old news now.” Ryder tried to crack a joke but there was no heart behind it.

Liam gave Ryder a tight smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes and forced out an awkward laugh. She knew he intended it to make her feel better, but the events of the past 36 hours still caused him to look at Ryder with pity in his eyes, no matter how badly he tried to hide it.

Ryder sighed in frustration, looking down at her feet, trying to focus on what was happening now, rather than what had happened in the very recent past. The moment she even let herself think about Scott in a coma or what happened to her Father on Habitat 7 was the moment the tears would start and she couldn’t allow that to happen. She had to hold herself together, at least until their current problems were sorted out. After that, she fully intended to go back to her father’s...no, her room on the Hyperion and fall apart. But not a moment sooner.

A smooth, mechanical voice sounded in her head, causing her to jump. She wasn’t used to SAM being in her head 24/7 and being able to talk to her without warning, and frankly she wasn’t sure she would ever get used to it. _“Crying is a natural part of grief in many species, Sara.”_ SAM told her. _“In fact, it is healthier to cry and let all your emotions out rather than bottling them all up.”_

“Not now, SAM.” Ryder hissed through her teeth.

“My apologies, Pathfinder.”

Ryder briefly wondered if an AI could even be sincerely sorry before she felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder. She turned to find Cora looking at her questioningly. Without even saying anything, Ryder knew immediately what she was asking. Her light brown eyes flicked all over Ryder’s face in a silent question. _Are you okay?_

Ryder swallowed and gave her a curt nod. “SAM spooked me. Not used to the private channel.”

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Cora nodded in return and removed her hand, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, let’s go find out what the hell is going on around here, shall we?” Cora took the lead this time, Ryder following close behind her. Hopefully they found someone on this godforsaken space station soon, Ryder thought as she trailed behind Cora. She really needed a good cry.

***

They did indeed find someone almost immediately; a technician who stared at the three of them like they were ghosts and left them with even more questions than they started with. Thankfully a Turian appeared shortly after finding the technician, and after introducing himself as Kandros, the militia leader, he quickly filled the three of them in on the current situation as they made their way to Operations. “After we discovered Garson had died, things all went to shit.” He explained. “All of the department heads started vying for power, food and water became scarcer and scarcer, and then finally the uprising. Things have settled down some, but we’re dangerously low on supplies. Anything your ark can spare, we would be in your debt.”

It wasn’t until a slight nudge from Cora did Ryder realize that Kandros had been speaking to her. The Turian was staring at her and she felt her face flare up with a blush. _Get it together, Sara._ She scolded herself. _You’re in charge now._

“O-of course,” She stammered out. “We’ll spare all we can. Helping the Nexus is our top priority.” She snuck a glance at Cora who gave a slight nod in approval. Ryder let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding.

“So who exactly is in charge now?” Cora turned her attention back to Kandros. “You?”

The Turian let out a sharp laugh and shook his head, manibles flaring in amusement. “Spirits, no. I wouldn’t know the first thing about being the director of the Initiative. As slimy as Tann is, no one can deny that he does the job decent enough. Although it’s rather unanimous that everyone would rather have Addison in charge, she refuses. Said she didn’t sign on to be the director and that she wouldn’t be good at it anyway.” The Turian crossed his arms as the tram slowed to a halt. “Personally I think Kesh should be in charge but no one else could do her job of keeping the station in one place, plus I don’t think some people would take too kindly to a Krogan being the director of the Initiative.”

Liam scoffed as the doors to the tram hissed open. “New galaxy, same old bigotry.”

“Some things never change.” Kandros jerked his head in the direction of the open doors. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

“Ryder, I’ll go talk to the requisition officer, see what all they need.” Liam turned to head off a different direction but was stopped by a pointed cough from Cora. He turned around with a grimace, casting an apologetic look towards Ryder. “I mean...if that’s alright with you.”

Ryder felt a surge of irritation, but she wasn’t quite sure why or towards who. It’s not like she blamed Liam for almost going off without asking, or forgetting that she was now in charge. She herself kept forgetting that very fact. And she certainly wasn’t irritated at Cora; the older woman was handling the situation much better than she would have been. Ryder could only imagine how angry she would have been had a position that was promised to her was given to someone else 4 years her junior with zero training. So she tamped down on the feelings of irritation and waved Liam off. “Yeah, that’d be great actually. Thanks.” She did her best to smile.

Liam struck a thumbs up in her general direction before turning and racing off towards the supply depot, already firing up his omni-tool.

Ryder and Cora trailed after Kandros, following him up a flight of stairs. A female Krogan was standing off to the side in a heated argument with a Salarian who was skinny even by Salarian standards. Standing a few feet away from them was a human woman, her arms crossed, her face contorted in a look that screamed boredom and irritation.

Kandros cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of the human, but the Krogan and Salarian were still oblivious to Kandros and the newcomers. The woman frowned as her eyes passed from Kandros to Ryder and then lit up with familiarity as her eyes landed on Cora. “Lieutenant Harper!”

Cora snapped to attention, military training kicking into action, tearing her eyes from the arguing aliens to the woman currently making a beeline for her. As Ryder glanced up at Cora she could have sworn a look of distaste passed over her features. “Oh.” Cora’s body visibly relaxed as she realized who was talking to her. “Addison. Good to see you again.” She stuck out her arm to shake the other woman’s hand.

“So it’s true?” The woman who Cora had referred to as Addison said, a hesitant look of hope crossing her features. “The Hyperion has arrived?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Cora started to say more but by now the two aliens had stopped arguing and made their way over as well.

“Well it’s about time we got some good news!” The female Krogan beamed.

Could Krogans even beam? Ryder made a mental note to ask SAM later.

“Where is Alec?” Addison suddenly frowned. Her eyes passed over Ryder, looking behind her as if Ryder Sr. was behind everyone, just out of sight.

“Yes, where is the Pathfinder?” The Salarian spoke up as to not be left out.

Ryder’s throat tightened at the mention of her father. _Do not cry, do not cry._ She chanted to herself. _Don’t you dare fucking cry in front of your new bosses, you are the Pathfinder, not a child._ She licked her lips. “He…” Fuck. She cut herself off as her voice cracked.

Beside her, Cora straightened again, holding her hands behind her back. “The Pathfinder... well, there was an accident on Habitat 7.”

“He’s dead.” Ryder blurted out. All eyes were on her in an instant.

“What?” The Salarian who Ryder assumed to be Tann spoke up first.

Addison was staring at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. “Alec is...dead?”

Tann turned to Cora before Ryder got the chance to speak again. “Well I am very sorry for your loss, but I suppose a congratulations is in order, Pathfinder Harper.”

Anger, red and hot, instantly bubbled up into Ryder’s chest. “Congratulations?” She spat out.

 _“Ryder, you are shaking.”_ SAM’s voice sounded in her head. _“I advise that you regain control of your emotions.”_

Ryder ignored the AI in her head; the anger made it easy. “He has barely been dead for twenty-four hours,” She could hear her voice shaking but at this point she was uncertain if it was from anger or from trying not to cry. “And you want to congratulate-”

A warm hand on Ryder’s waist cut her off mid sentence. She swallowed, breathing hard, looking over. Cora’s arm was around her waist, her hand a firm weight on Ryder’s hip as she set her jaw, looking directly at Tann. “While your sentiment is understood, Director, it is unnecessary.”

Both Tann and Addison blinked in confusion. “I don’t follow.”

Cora glanced over at Ryder as if to make sure that she wouldn’t explode again before removing her hand from around her waist. “I am not Alec Ryder’s successor; Sara here is.”

There was a beat of silence before Addison spoke up. “Are you joking?”

Heat rose in Ryder’s chest again, but she managed to remain somewhat calm. “No, she is not. I am the new Pathfinder. When it became clear that only one of us would live, my father transferred the authority of Pathfinder and SAM to myself, to save my life.”

“Your father?” Tann asked. “So you are Sara Ryder?”

Ryder didn’t trust her voice anymore, so she simply nodded.

Addison snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Wonderful. So our Pathfinder is now an untrained child who only got the job because of nepotism?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Goddamnit. The hell was he thinking?” She muttered.

“With all due respect, Addison.” Cora’s tone took a steely edge. “While we may not all understand the reasoning behind his decision, it is a decision that we are all going to have to respect. SAM is linked to Ryder in ways that we don’t fully understand, and there’s nothing we can do about that. But I trust…” Cora’s voice lost some of her edge. “Trusted...his judgement, which means I trust Ryder as our new Pathfinder.”

Addison’s face was unreadable but after a moment’s silence, she relented. “Alright. I’ll trust his judgement as well…” She threw a glance in Ryder’s direction who was doing her best not to smirk at her after Cora’s speech in her defense. “And I’ll trust you’ll be there to assist her as well?” It was more of a question than a statement, a need for reassurance that someone with training would be part of the pathfinder squad.

“Every step of the way.” Ryder answered for Cora.

Addison gave the two of them a curt nod before turning on her heel and leaving. Ryder watched her leave with a sour taste in her mouth. She desperately hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with her often.

**

Not even half an hour later, Ryder had to talk to Addison again. This time however, Cora wasn’t there to have her back. The biotic had gone to Tann’s office to deal with the specifics of getting a scout ship and rounding up a crew for it, something Ryder desperately wished she could have done instead. But as Pathfinder it was instead her duty to meet the heads of each division and that, unfortunately, included Addison. Kandros had been polite enough, granting her access to the strike teams, which frankly terrified her, and Kesh was overly nice but wasn’t able to speak for very long due to the overwhelming amount of work she had to do. Ryder had purposely saved Addison for last, dreading having to talk to the woman by herself.

She slowly climbed the steps to where Addison was standing, looking out over the crew of people working. Unsure of what to do, she coughed awkwardly. “Addison?”

“What the hell happened?” The woman didn’t even turn around.

“I...what?” Ryder frowned in confusion. “To who?”

“To whom!” The woman snapped, suddenly spinning on her heel to face Ryder. “And your goddamn father!”

Ryder couldn’t help it. Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

Addison suddenly sighed, shaking her head as she dragged a hand down her face. “I apologize. That was uncalled for. I just...I need help understanding this, Ryder.”

Something in Ryder’s stomach twisted. “We fell off a cliff. My helmet shattered, and the air was unbreathable. He…” Her voice suddenly gave out and she looked down at her feet, blinking away the hot tears that pricked at her eyelids. _Fucks sake, do not let Addison be the one I cry in front of today._ She silently begged.

“Goddamnit.” She heard Addison say again. “I’m sorry, Ryder. This whole thing is just a mess. I wasn’t expecting to hear that Alec had died on top of all the other shit that has happened."

Ryder forced herself to look up at the other woman. Addison wasn’t even looking at her which gave her time to study the other woman up close. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was staring off into the distance, green eyes glazed over as she stared at something over Ryder’s shoulder. Her mouth was in a thin line and her eyebrows were creased. Ryder briefly wondered what the woman looked like if she were to smile; then she wondered if Addison was even capable of smiling.

“You call him Alec…” Ryder said slowly. “No one ever called him that.”

Addison was suddenly staring at Ryder. “I don’t give a damn what other people did or didn’t call him. I worked closely with him on this project. My job relies on the success of a Pathfinder, which up until now, was your father.”

“It’s my job now.” Ryder said stiffly.

“And so it seems.” Addison sighed again, turning back to staring into the distance. “Let’s just hope he knew what he was doing.”

Anger prickled Ryder’s skin with heat. “You doubt my father’s decision?” She said defensively.

“No offense Ryder, but it’s you I doubt. Your father had good intentions when he saved the life of one of his children, and I don’t blame him for that, but he didn’t have to make you Pathfinder. You have no training.”

“I’m well aware of that!” Ryder struggled to keep her voice low. “I didn’t ask for this job! If I could pass it on to Cora, I would, but I can’t so there’s no use bitching about it.”

Addison glared at her for several moments before saying anything. “I suppose you’re right.” There was another beat of silence. “Listen Ryder.” Her face softened by a margin. “We’re dangerously low on supplies here. We need more resources, which means we need more people. But we can’t wake them up unless…”

“Unless you have somewhere for them to live.” Ryder sighed. “A golden world.”

“Exactly.” Addison stressed. “Now more than ever, we need a Pathfinder. Even if it’s not who we expected, we need you. Do you understand? The entire Initiative is at risk. We have no golden worlds, no word from the other arks. No other Pathfinders. Just you.”

“You must be a hoot at parties.” Ryder said weakly.

Addison narrowed her eyes at her. “This isn’t going to be easy, Ryder. I hope you know that. It’s been fourteen months with two failed colonies and enemies that don’t talk, don’t ask for anything. They don’t attack; they disinfect. We’re nothing but bacteria to them.” She rolled her eyes seemingly at herself. “Sorry. After so long you stoop to poetry. That’s how bad it is.”

Ryder opened her mouth to talk but Addison didn’t stop. “We don’t know what they’re actually called but we’ve started calling them ‘kett’. Kandros will know more. Maybe too much.”

Ryder frowned. “Do you not trust Kandros?”

“I trust him to protect us.” Addison said quickly, eyes finding Ryder’s. “What I do _not_ trust is a rising military influence in what is meant to be a civilian initiative. We came here to make history, Ryder. Not repeat it.” She scoffed to herself again, shaking her head. “Goddamn poetry.”

“What’s wrong with poetry?”

“If that’s what you took away from that conversation, we’re in deeper shit than I realized.” Addison sighed heavily, but there was no more malice behind her words. She leaned against the railing of the glass balcony, looking tired. “This fucking galaxy won’t cooperate. It was supposed to be a utopia. Beautiful utopian horseshit. Colonies that produce and support each other. The Nexus acting as a Citadel... _not_ headed by Tann.”

Ryder couldn’t help it. She laughed for the first time in 36 hours, the noise startling both her and Addison, the other woman glancing back at her. “Please don’t tell him I said that.”

Ryder smiled. “Cross my heart.”

Addison didn’t look convinced, but she turned away from Ryder again. “Slimy bastard.” Ryder wasn’t sure if she was supposed to have heard that or not so she didn’t say anything.

“Well if there’s nothing else, I’ll just be going...Excuse me, Director Addison.” Ryder turned to step away.

“Ryder.” Addison said in acknowledgment, still looking away.

“It’s Pathfinder.” Ryder heard herself say before realizing what had happened.

Addison turned around, squinting at her. “Ryder, people are starving out here. Alec and the Initiative promised a lot but none of it planned out. Three arks are missing and there are no livable planets. You have a lot to live up to. It’s why people don’t trust you. It’s why _I_ don’t trust you.”

The two women stared at each other for several moments. “Nobody’s a Pathfinder until they’ve...pathfound something.” Addison’s face pulled into a grimace at her own words. “Get out there and prove me wrong. I beg you.”


End file.
